The Property of a Lady 女士藏品 A RARE PALE GREEN AND RUSSET JADE INSCRIBED ARCHAISTIC CUP Ming Dynasty The deep oval vessel set on a short foot with spreading rim, carved with three horizontal bands, the upper bearing a two-line archaic-character inscription, the middle register with stylised archaistic chilong motifs, the lower with scrollwork designs, the openwork handle carved in the form of a sinuous scrolling dragon, the greenish-yellow stone with russet veining and inclusions. 11cm (4 3/8in) high. 注脚 明 青白玉仿古紋觥 Provenance: Spink & Son Ltd., London, E. A. Parry (1879-1946), London, acquired from the above on 30 November 1938, and thence by descent 來源： 倫敦古董商Spink & Son Ltd. 倫敦E. A. Parry（1879-1946）舊藏，於1938年11月30日購自上者，並由後人保存迄今 Archaistic jade vessels similar to the present lot were probably based on jade rhytons dating to the Han dynasty. See a jade vessel excavated from the tomb of the King of Nanyue, Guangdong Province, illustrated by J.Rawson in Chinese Jade from the Neolithic to the Qing, London, 1995, p.70, fig.61, which, in turn, appears to have been based on Western Asian forms shaped as horns rising from a twisted, bifurcated tail-form handle at the bottom and incised around the sides with scroll decoration. By the Song and Ming dynasties, this shape was modified and the sides carved with bands of archaistic decoration inspired by that found on ritual bronzes and jades of the Eastern Zhou and Han dynasties, often with the addition of chilong carved in high relief around the sides, and sometimes with a dragon-form handle, such as the one which can be noted on the present cup. Compare with a related jade cup, Ming dynasty, decorated with archaistic designs of cicadas, taotie masks and stylised dragons, in the Qing Court Collection, illustrated in The Complete Collection of Treasures of the Palace Museum, vol.2, Hong Kong, 1995, pp.232-233, no.183. A related yellowish-celadon jade rhyton cup, 17th century, was sold at Christie's London, 12 November 2010, lot 1178. 玉質青黃，赭褐沁呈色自然。橢圓體，深膛矮足，口微侈。器外壁環以三周紋飾，最上一週為明異體篆書銘文兩行，中層雕螭龍紋，下層飾羽翅紋。鏤空盃鋬以一矯健遊龍造型。 此類仿古玉器多以漢代玉觥為濫觴。如廣東西漢南越王墓中出土一件角形玉盃，圖見J.Rawson著，《Chinese Jade from the Neolithic to the Qing》，倫敦，1995年，頁70，圖61；其器形源於西亞，形似犀角，底部捲曲成把手，盃身纏以回環往復之龍紋。至宋明兩代，該類器型持續發生衍變，盃身多飾以仿東週及兩漢時期青銅禮器及玉器之紋樣，並常見高浮雕螭龍紋，鋬以龍造型為多。 比較一例清宮舊藏明代玉仿古銅紋單耳盃，外壁亦雕三周紋飾，收錄於《故宮博物院藏文物珍品全集：玉器（中）》，香港，1995，頁232-233，編號183。另有一例十七世紀青黃玉雕角盃，售於倫敦佳士得，2010年11月12日，拍品編號1178，可資比對。